For a number of years, expandable batons frequently have been provided to law enforcement officers and to civilian and military security personnel for use as intermediate force weapons. For example, expandable batons manufactured by Armament Systems and Procedures (ASP—the assignee of this application) are very well known among the applicable users and purchasers. The following are some of the patents that relate to existing batons and are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,110,375; 5,149,092; 5,161,800; 5,348,297; 5,356,139; 5,386,322; 5,407,197; 5,509,653; 5,595,386; 5,645,276; 5,647,591; 5,657,986; 5,667,441; 5,797,797; 5,868,621; 5,919,093; 5,961,387; and 6,623,361.
In prior art batons, retraction of the inner sections of the baton that are locked in an extended position is typically accomplished by striking the tip of the baton against a hard surface in order to apply a sufficient axial force along the longitudinal axis of the baton. This usually requires the user to bend over, and sometimes requires one or more repeated attempts to accomplish the retraction. Both for ease of use and for minimizing the possibility of damage or wear of the baton, the twist release of the present invention is advantageous for retraction of the inner sections from the extended position in some circumstances and for some users.